He's accused of driving drunk; 2 hurt

Martinez, 24, of San Angelo, has been charged with intoxication assault with a vehicle.

SAN ANGELO, Texas - A San Angelo man has been charged with intoxication assault after a traffic collision Saturday night in the central part of the city. His passenger and another driver were injured in the crash, and both were taken to a hospital.

Rafael Jose Martinez, 24, was taken to the Tom Green County Jail, where a county sheriff’s deputy gave him a Breathalyzer test. Martinez had “an alcohol concentration of 0.188 and 0.180,” according to the deputy’s incident report. A blood alcohol content of 0.08 or more is considered intoxicated by state law.

The incident began Saturday at 1:30 a.m. when San Angelo police officers were called to the intersection of Sixth and North Chadbourne streets to investigate the report of a motor vehicle accident with injuries. The officers found a 2013 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup with an unconscious and injured man partially outside the truck’s passenger side, according to a news release from the Police Department.

San Angelo Fire Department medics arrived and took the 24-year-old passenger to a hospital for treatment of incapacitating injuries, according to the release. Tracy Gonzalez, public information officer for the Police Department, said she thought that the passenger was in stable condition but that she was not sure whether he had been released. The Sheriff’s Office report indicated that the passenger might have had a cracked eye socket with swelling.

Officers said the driver of a 2007 Toyota Tundra pickup involved in the collision, a 54-year-old San Angelo resident, also was injured. He was transported to a hospital for treatment. His condition was unknown, Gonzalez said Monday afternoon.

Officers suspected that Martinez was intoxicated at the time of the crash and called in a deputy with specialized DWI training. The deputy performed field sobriety tests on Martinez and noted that he smelled like alcohol and had bloodshot eyes and slurred speech.

Martinez said that he was not the driver, but that the passenger had been driving at the time of the crash, according to the Sheriff’s Office report. He also said he had “about a 12-pack” to drink.

The deputy determined that Martinez was intoxicated, authorities said.

Police said they learned that Martinez and his passenger were traveling eastbound on Sixth Street when he ran a red light and crashed into the Toyota Tundra, which already was in the intersection, northbound on North Chadbourne Street, according to the news release. Regarding Martinez’s assertion that he was not driving, “Evidence collected at the site and during the investigation aside from witness statements showed that the passenger was not driving the car,” Gonzalez said.